Soundless
by Forbiddensoul562
Summary: When he blew up his base, Mello was thinking only of his own survival. He hadn't for a moment considered that he would be robbed of one of his most important senses: his hearing. Flung into this new world of silence, Mello wants only to return to a sense of normalcy: of running the Mafia, now with Matt acting as his ears. But can such a task ever be so simple? MattxMello.


Soundless

Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note, nor any of the characters used in this story.

Credit to MihaelKeehl on Tumblr for supplying the headcanon post surrounding this idea, and giving me the okay to write a fic surrounding it.

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Chapter 1: Playing with Fire

" _Whatever you do, don't set these off. They're not ready. If you set the explosives off as they are I can't ensure your survival. I need more time."_ Unfortunately, time never seemed to be a factor that was ever on Mello's side.

The words had flitted through his mind like a grim reminder before he'd made the decision, followed shortly after by the question of whether in this instance he was willing to risk his own life. But in the back of his mind even then Mello had known that if he wanted any chance of escape from its infiltration by law enforcement and _Kira_ then there was no other option. The base _needed_ to be destroyed.

He remembered hearing the blast, feeling the initial heat suddenly consuming him on all sides followed almost immediately by the deafening sound of each explosive going off followed by the whine of metal being ripped apart. He remembered the sickening smell of burning flesh formulating into black clouds to billow up to the heavens like his own morbid offering to the gods.

Then there was silence.

The next thing Mello knew, he was gasping for air; sucking it down into his lungs as though in the next second he would be submerged beneath invisible waves, never to see the surface again. Every breath of air was razor blades slicing their way down his throat, yet still he voraciously sucked them down like an addict finally getting their next fix.

The more consciousness seemed to seep back into Mello's being, the more the reality of how his own mortality still hung in the balance seemed to come with it. Sure, he'd survived the worst of the ordeal, but that didn't mean he was anywhere close to _safe_ yet.

Total destruction had seemed to be Mello's only means of escape. But _Kira_ was still a threat. Hell, his own organization could be after him for going so far, for being responsible for the deaths of so many.

He needed to get out. He needed to get far away from here _._

' _Come on…'_ He willed himself, inhaling a sharp breath as he began to test each of his fingers, bending them to assure he still had control over them. Once that was completed he began on his legs, each simple movement to move them even an inch sending excruciating pain through his entire body. Obviously getting out from whatever was covering him, much less getting _away_ was going to be near impossible by himself…

He called out, desperate to be heard by anyone who might still be around the rubble.

But all he was met with was continued silence.

No, that wasn't right. That _co_ _uldn't_ be right. He felt the tightening of his throat as he forced out _some_ sound past cracked lips, he felt the slight huff of air needed to prove he had indeed transmitted some kind of noise.

But he heard nothing. Absolutely nothing.

It was only then that Mello began to notice… there was _nothing_.

There was no residual ringing in his ears from the powerful sounds of the explosion. There were no sounds of rubble settling around him under its own weight. There was no crackle of any lingering fires around the perimeter, no moans of the injured or dying who had made it through the ordeal. There were no calls from any sort of rescue units that might be responding to the catastrophe.

"Help!" Mello forced out with as much effort as he could muster, to make it as loud as possible. Still there was nothing but the persisting silence within his ears. With each passing second that he heard nothing, either from himself or the outside world was another that he felt himself beginning to panic.

If he wasn't making any sounds, as he could have sworn he was, and if there were no other sounds from the outside world, compounded with his own inability to pull himself out of the wreckage then what option did that leave him with? The longer he remained here, the more susceptible he would become to dying from any injuries he had from the explosion, not to mention the possibility of freezing to death through the night…

' _I need to get out! I can't die here!_ ' There was still so much to do. He hadn't become the best… he hadn't beaten Near… He felt his breathing becoming more erratic the more he let himself think about how this might very well be the end for him. Still he heard nothing, not even the force of his heart pounding as though desperate for its own freedom from the prison of his ribcage.

He didn't want this. He wasn't _ready_ for this. Yet somehow at the same time something in the back of his mind couldn't deny how ironically appropriate it would be, the cherry on the top of Mello's life, that he should die in the after effects of a much more appropriate hellfire.

Then, all of a sudden Mello felt the rubble beside him press down under a new weight, the splintered wood and broken metal at once pulled off of him, replaced almost immediately by the sight of Matt's face coming into view.

Familiar, _terrified_ emerald eyes found his own and in that moment Mello felt every muscle in his body tense up, feeling his own freedom so close to him, yet somehow just as far away. He wanted out; wanted rid of this wreckage of his own creation and this horrid silence. But what if it was not to be? What if he _was_ dying? What if that was the reason everything was so silent and why Matt's expression was so consumed with fear?

"Matt…" He forced out, yet met with only silence.

But he must have said _something_ because Matt immediately nodded and began speaking, yet all Mello could make out was, 'scared,' and 'fuck.' He liked to think he knew the redhead well enough to fill in the blanks.

Just lying there in the rubble felt like daggers were digging into Mello's entire body, yet he was overcome with a need to know what exactly was happening. Was this a hallucination? Was he slowly dying? So despite the pain, he forced a hand up to try and touch the gamer's face.

Matt met him halfway, catching Mello's hand and bringing his fingers up to his cheek. _'So, it's not a hallucination…'_ He told himself. Well, at least that was one option down.

In the next moment Matt was talking to him again, his lips moving much too fast for the blonde to get anything out of him. "Matt," he forced out, wishing he could hear what his tone sounded like. "I can't…" His chest felt tight, his head growing lighter by the second as all the adrenaline that must have previously been surging through his body at the thought that he might have been left to die began seeping out of him at the sight of being in trusted hands.

Matt shook his head, his green eyes unobscured by his ridiculous orange goggles were filled with so much fear. His lips formed something that looked to be either, 'don't,' or 'no.' So, Matt was afraid for him, too

Mello swallowed, cringing as he was reminded of the razorblades making trails down his throat. "Hear." He forced out to complete his previous sentence. If he could just get Matt to understand.

Then again, even if he could get Matt to understand him, what good would that do? What would that solve? Instead, he needed to focus on what mattered most, especially as each second he felt more and more of his strength leaving him.

"Don't let me die." He forced out, or at least _hoped_ he had said, as his vision blurred.

Matt's expression shifted, but he immediately shook his head, leaning a bit closer and continuing to hold Mello's hand against him. He began speaking again, thankfully slow enough this time that the blonde could make out what he was saying through the movement of his lips alone, "Relax. You'll be okay. Just relax."

But he didn't want to… He was still worried about the question of whether he would even make it out of this situation alive, given not only the silence filling his world but the sheer agony beginning to grip his entire body.

"Relax, Mello." Matt repeated. "You'll be okay. Just trust me."

And as much as he would have normally hated to admit it, Matt had a point… who else on this planet could Mello trust above the redhead? If Matt told him that he was going to be okay, then in that moment the blonde found no reason to not place his trust in the fact that Matt knew what he was talking about.

Mello's eyes finally slipped closed, letting himself slip back into the black of unconsciousness as he reassured himself with the thought that Matt would help… that things would be fine and make sense when he woke up. After all, when was the last time something had gone wrong on Matt's watch?

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A/N: Welcome to my first real attempt at writing a MattMello story! I am quite nervous about stepping out of my usual comfort zone with fics, but I am equally super excited about the prospect of this story and everything that comes along with it. Besides, I think MattMello will be far easier to make romantic than Meronia tends to be… In any case, please let me know any thoughts, comments or opinions!

Please review  
 _-Forbiddensoul562_


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